Fans of color/non-white fans: during Con or Bust’s next request assistance period, August 15-25, you can request monetary assistance to attend upcoming SFF cons, and free memberships to cons a bit further in the future—such as this one:

Many more cons have donated memberships that can be requested in August; for your planning purposes, they’re behind the cut, but you can always find the full and up-to-date list of at the Upcoming Cons, and you can find out how to request them at the Request Assistance page! (For con memberships available now, also see the Upcoming Cons page!)

MALCon has donated three weekend tickets to Con or Bust, which should be claimed by August 7.

Behind the cut are allllllll the other cons that fans of color/non-white fans can get free memberships to rightnow. Check out the Upcoming Cons page for the complete, most up-to-date list, and claim them from using the form linked on the Request Assistance page!

Fans of color/non-white fans: Con or Bust has available now, first-come first-serve, a free registration and shuttle ticket to Sirens, October 8–11, 2015, Denver, CO, USA. Sirens is a conference dedicated to the remarkable women of fantasy literature: readers, authors, publishing professionals, scholars, educators, librarians, and even characters. Its Guests of Honor are Rae Carson, Kate Elliott, and Yoon Ha Lee, and its theme is rebels and revolutionaries.

This registration and shuttle ticket has been donated by an individual; the con itself previously donated three registrations & tickets, which are no longer available. This should be claimed by September 12, the registration deadline. Go to the Request Assistance page to learn how to request the membership (and check out the Upcoming Cons page for more cons with free memberships available right now!).

Con or Bust has a free membership available for a fan of color/non-white fan to Diversicon 23, July 24-26, 2015, Saint Paul, MN, USA. Diversicon provides great panels, discussions, readings and a really fun auction with a strong literate focus. Its Guest of Honor is Ytasha L. Womack and its Special Guest is Rob Callahan.

This membership was donated by an individual in Ytasha L. Womack’s honor; it was previously claimed but the recipient had a change of plans, so is available again.

For those planning ahead, I’m pleased to announce what I believe is Con or Bust’s first donation from a Southern Hemisphere con: Au Contraire 2016, 3-5 June, 2016, Wellington, New Zealand. Au Contraire is the 37th National Science Fiction & Fantasy Convention for New Zealand (NatCon for short). Its Guests include Stephanie Paul (Iron Sky), Martin Wallace (Treefrog Games), and A.J. Fitzwater.

Au Contraire has donated one membership to Con or Bust. Fans of color/non-white fans can request it during the next request assistance period, August 15-25; see the Request Assistance page for more information.

And for the other memberships to be available in August, and lots available right this minute, check out the Upcoming Cons page. Thanks, and please spread the word!

These are first-come first-served and must be claimed in time for the recipients to make the August 2 pre-registration deadline; please go to the Request Assistance page to learn how. And please spread the word!

Through Sunday, June 7 (11:59pm Eastern time), John Scalzi will donate $1 for every picture of your happy pup posted over at his blog. If you have a dog, go post a picture! If you don’t, or if you just need a happy-dog pick-me-up, go enjoy the thread!

Many thanks to John, and to all who’ve already posted and spread the word. And as a reminder, Con or Bust currently has a whole lot of free memberships available for fans of color/non-white fans, so check it out!

Con or Bust currently has the following free memberships available, first-come first-serve, for fans of color/non-white fans:

Archipelacon, June 25-28, 2015, Mariehamn, Åland, Finland. Archipelacon is the Nordic SF & Fantasy convention (but its main language will be English). Its Guests of Honor are George R.R. Martin, Johanna Sinisalo, and Karin Tidbeck.

Archipelacon has donated two memberships to Con or Bust.

Pi-Con, July 31-August 2, 2015, Windsor Locks, CT, USA. Pi-Con is “the friendliest little convention in New England”; its Guest of Honor is Tanya Huff and its Guest of Awesome is Vikki Ciaffone.

Nine Worlds has donated twenty (20) passes to Con or Bust, to be claimed by 1 August, of which 15 remain.

BristolCon, September 26th 2015, Bristol, UK. BristolCon is a fun, friendly and informative one-day con. Its Guests of Honour in 2015 will be writers Jasper Fforde and Jaine Fenn, with a possible artist GoH to be confirmed.

BristolCon has donated two memberships to Con or Bust, which should be claimed by the end of August.

Sirens, October 8–11, 2015, Denver, CO, USA. Sirens is a conference dedicated to the remarkable women of fantasy literature: readers, authors, publishing professionals, scholars, educators, librarians, and even characters. Its Guests of Honor are Rae Carson, Kate Elliott, and Yoon Ha Lee, and its theme is rebels and revolutionaries.

Sirens has donated three registrations and shuttle tickets to Con or Bust, (edit) which have all been claimed. In addition, an individual has donated another registration & shuttle ticket. These should be claimed by September 12, the registration deadline.

JOFCon MSP, October 9-11, 2015, Minneapolis, MN, USA. JOFs are Journeymen of Fandom, including Journeywomen, Journeypersons, Journeybots, Journeyfolk, Journeyfen, Journeyworkers, & Journeyplatypi. All are welcome, so long as they’re interested in learning more about fanac (“fannish activities”).

Octocon, October 9-11, Dublin, Ireland. Octocon is the National Irish Science Fiction Convention. Its Guests of Honor this year are Maura McHugh and Emma Newman.

Octocon has donated two memberships to Con or Bust, of which one remains.

GeekGirlCon, October 10-11, 2015, Seattle, WA, USA. GeekGirlCon celebrates and honors the legacy of women contributing to science and technology; comics, arts, and literature; and game play and game design by connecting geeky women world-wide and creating community to foster continued growth of women in geek culture through events.

GeekGirlCon has donated six passes to Con or Bust.

Wincon, October 15-18, 2015, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. Wincon’s mission is to bring together a diverse group of internet-based media fans in an inclusive environment to engage in fannish activities and foster meaningful connections. It aims to provide programming created and led by attendees, on topics drawn from a variety of sources and involving everything from detailed meta to wildly creative fanworks, encompassing all aspects of fandom culture.

Wincon has donated ten memberships to Con or Bust.

Arcana, October 23-25, 2015, St. Paul, MN, USA. Arcana is a small horror/dark fantasy con; its Guest of Honor is Catherine Lundoff.

Sasquan donated three attending memberships to Con or Bust, which have been claimed. An individual has also donated an attending membership to Con or Bust. (EDIT: now claimed.)

BristolCon, September 26th 2015, Bristol, UK. BristolCon is a fun, friendly and informative one-day con. Its Guests of Honour in 2015 will be writers Jasper Fforde and Jaine Fenn, with a possible artist GoH to be confirmed.

BristolCon has donated two memberships to Con or Bust, which should be claimed by the end of August.

Sirens, October 8–11, 2015, Denver, CO, USA. Sirens is a conference dedicated to the remarkable women of fantasy literature: readers, authors, publishing professionals, scholars, educators, librarians, and even characters. Its Guests of Honor are Rae Carson, Kate Elliott, and Yoon Ha Lee, and its theme is rebels and revolutionaries.

Sirens has donated three registrations and shuttle tickets to Con or Bust. (EDIT: two claimed.)

These can be requested individually or, through May 25, as part of a broader assistance request. Please see the Request Assistance page for more information, and please spread the word!

Reminder: Con or Bust will be accepting requests for assistance from fans of color/non-white fans to attend SFF cons through Monday, May 25. (Requests must be timestamped on or before 11:59 p.m. Eastern; I may or may not be awake to turn the form off.)